Protesters shot in Damascus as peace monitors visit

Syrian security forces have reportedly shot dead four protesters in a large crowd gathered outside a mosque in Damascus to greet members of the League of Arab States monitoring mission.

Troops opened fire as a party of the international monitors were visiting a nearby municipal building, opposition activists say.

Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that about 20,000 people were waiting outside the Grand Mosque in the suburb of Douma to make their voices heard to the monitors.

“The Arab League’s initiative is the only ray of light that we now see,” Mr Rahman told AFP.

The 60 Arab League monitors, who began work on Tuesday, are the first Syria has allowed into the country during the nine-month anti-government…